EPL 2017/18: 5 talking points from gameweek 4

The Premier League returned after the international break and there were lots of unexpected outcomes once again. This weekend saw the reigning champions Chelsea claim their third straight win while the early favourites, Manchester United dropped points at Stoke.

After their humbling of Liverpool, Manchester City will now be the favourites for the title. We also saw Arsene Wenger's men get back to winning ways and last but not least, Harry Kane putting behind him the cursed month of August in style.

Here are some of the talking points from an exciting weekend's action:

#1 Liverpool brought back down to earth

In the early kick-off on Saturday, Liverpool headed to Manchester in a confident mood, fresh from their big 4-0 triumph over Arsenal just before the international break. Their performance against the Gunners had drawn plaudits from all corners and some were even tipping Jurgen Klopp's men to be in contention for the title.

However, the international break seems to have broken their flow as they were brought back down to earth by the ruthless Manchester City who ran out 5-0 winners.

It all went wrong from the moment Sadio Mane was sent off for Liverpool. Although at 1-0 down, even with 10 men, it was not an impossible task for the Reds. But their defence really let them down and Gabriel Jesus capitalised, scoring in first half stoppage time. It was shocking to see Jesus left completely unmarked inside the box.

Liverpool's fragile backline was tested on numerous occasions and perhaps the Reds were lucky in the end as the score could have easily been 7-0 to City!

To make matters worse, their attack will be without Sadio Mane for the next few games.